These Masks We Wear
by ScarletWaterBender
Summary: Katara, disguised as the Painted Lady, finds an ally in battle in the Blue Spirit. But what happens when the Spirit is wounded and Katara's conscience won't let her leave him to die? Can she deal with the consequences? T just in case.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, This Is Just A Little Two-Or-Three Shot, Cuz I Couldn't Get It Out Of My Head And I've Got About Another Story I Haven't Updated For A While And People Are Mad At Me For It... So Yeah. Reviews=Love=Faster Updates!**

Katara darted swiftly and silently through the growing darkness, her thin, gauzy veil floating behind her like a ghostly aura. The fresh red paint on her skin was cold in the breeze, still damp. She felt bad about pretending to be the Spirit that she clearly wasn't, but she had things to do tonight. In a way, it was kind of exciting; she could be whatever she wanted to be, didn't have to conform to the person that she'd convinced everyone-even herself-that she was. She could be free.

Within minutes, she saw it; a small camp of Fire Nation soldiers, lying in wait. They'd been attacking innocent travelers lately, but she was here to put a stop to that.

But even before she had reached the outskirts of the camp she knew something was wrong. There was a certain commotion to the camp that shouldn't be occuring this late at night. People were screaming.

And then she saw it.

If she'd blinked, she would have missed it. But she'd seen it. The leering face that decorated half of the Wanted posters in the Fire Nation. The Blue Spirit. It had jumped clean over a tent, swords drawn.

_Well,_ she thought, _Looks like I've got an ally_.

Without needing further prompting, she dashed toward the camp, gracefully pulling water from the air and drawing it into a whip. Joining the fray, she attacked a small group of soldiers, her movements so fluid she could have been dancing. She attacked not to kill, but to frighten and wound. The Blue Spirit seemed to have the same reservations. His-for up close Katara could see that he was no more than a man in a mask- swords were lined with thin streaks of blood, but were not coated as they might have been if used to kill.

For a moment, there was a temporary lapse in fighting as they dispatched the soldiers in front of them. As others struggled to regroup and form an offensive, The Blue Spirit and the pretend Painted Lady exchanged a glance. The Spirit gave a nod, acknowledging her as if with respect, and she gave one in return. That was all.

And then they were at it again.

Within minutes, the ground was littered with wounded soldiers, some moaning, some even screaming. But all were downed.

Breathing hard, Katara let her water whip dissolve into the bloody soil. She turned, and watched as the Blue Spirit sheathed his swords across his back. He too was breathing rather heavily.

Feeling almost giddy, Kartara tilted her head back and let out a few breathless laughs. They were almost soundless, but they were enough to catch the Spirit's attention. He turned to look at her, then took a couple of steps toward her. He held out his hand.

For a single second, Katara was confused. Then she understood, and reached out to shake his hand. Half-smiling, she met his gaze and nodded once. Neither of them spoke.

Even as alert as she was right now, Katara didn't register the flash of movement until it was too late. One of the wounded soldiers had reached up and plunged a dagger into the stomach of the Blue Spirit.

The Spirit flinched, pulling away from her and holding his hands to his bleeding front. Katara reacted quickly, drawing water out of the air and using it to slit the throat of the offending soldier. With luck, he would be the only one to die tonight.

Meanwhile, the Blue Spirit's knees were beginning to buckle. Katara rushed over and looped one of his arms around her shoulders, not needing to be asked. The Spirit looked at her so quickly she could only assume he was surprised, but she shook her head. Now was not the time to argue.

She helped him to stagger out of the camp, and once they were a safe distance away, laid him down in a small clearing in the trees. The Spirit grunted with pain, the only sound either of them had made to the other that night. Then he groaned as Katara forced him to lie down on his back. His breathing was labored.

She put her fingers to her lips, telling him to shh without making a sound. He didn't see. He'd passed out.

Alarmed, Katara pulled his hands away from the wound, and cursed mentally as she saw how much blood the man had lost. As gently as she could, she unbuttoned his shirt and drew it away from his chest and abdomen, exposing the injury. Lifting a hand, she drew water out of the air and used it to clean the skin around the wound of blood. Once more, and she set to work on healing his wound. The white glow of the healing water reassured her, but even she could only do so much. In the end, she took off the man's shirt and tore it into bandages, then bound and dressed the injury. She had taken care of the worst of the internal damage, but did not have the strength to heal the wound completely tonight.

Still, there were things that had to be done. She knew she couldn't go back to the gAang tonight, not if it meant leaving this poor wounded ally alone. She would have to do the best she could. She made camp with what she could; fire "borrowed" from the camp they had left to burn, clearing leaves to make space to sleep, a few medicinal herbs and a gourd of leaves and bark. It would have to do until morning.

But...

She had to admit, she was curious. Just whose was the face under that painted mask? The man was young, she could tell from the youthful skin and muscles, but... _who was he_? And besides, it couldn't have been comfortable to sleep in that mask...

_But he trusts me. He trusted me to get him to safety, to help him. If he wanted me to know who he is, he would have told me. But he didn't. So I'll respect that._

_For tonight._


	2. Unmasked

**Love The Reviews! Keep 'Em Coming! Here's A Little More, 'Cuz I Can't Get It Out Of My Head!**

Dawn had just broken when the Blue Spirit woke. A layer of mist covered the ground, and the sky was overcast. He bolted into a sitting position- and regretted it. Pain flared through his midsection, and he winced, his hand flashing to his wound. He leaned back, keeping himself propped up on one elbow. Surprised, he found that he had been bandaged- with his own shirt. Alarmed, his hand flew to his face. His mask was still there. He nearly sighed in relief.

_She didn't take it off,_ Zuko thought. _Did she?_

He looked around, and then he saw her. A couple of yards away, she was kneeling by a small fire. Her back wasn't to him, but neither was she directly facing him, either. She appeared to be heating something in a small gourd.

As is sensing his eyes on her, she turned to look at him. Not speaking, she took the gourd from the fire, stood, and walked over to him. Kneeling, she presented the gourd to him.

"Drink," she said quietly, almost a whisper. The red lines on her face and shoulders made her look almost wild, but there was something kind in her blue eyes. He couldn't help but think that he recognized those eyes from somewhere...

The woman sighed, took his hand, and placed the gourd in it. Then she stood, turned her back on him, and walked back to the fire. She sat again, but this time with her back to him.

For a moment, he was confused. Why was she being so cold all of a sudden? Then he understood. _She's giving me privacy,_ he thought. _She's giving me the opportunity to take off my mask so I can drink this and not have to show her my face._

He looked down at the gourd in his hand. The water inside was steaming, and strange-smelling herbs were floating inside of it. He assumed it was medicine. After all, why would she poison him after she'd gone through all of the trouble of bandaging him?

Lifting his mask, he pinched his nose and drank down the contents of the gourd. Then he replaced the mask.

"Thank you," he murmured, nearly inaudibly. They both understood the risks behind speaking too much; the other might be able to recognize their voice, either now or if they ever met again. That could spell disaster for them in the long run.

She nodded once. Then she stood, and turned back to him. With a few steps she was by his side again, her dress and veil making the mist swirl around them. The chill of the morning's mist made goosebumps rise on his skin, a sure sign that he was feeling weak. Usually, his inner flame kept him warm in this kind of weather.

The woman sat by his side once more, and started to undo the makeshift bandages wrapped around his middle.

"Wha-" he started to ask, but the woman cut him off with a raise from her hand. She didn't look at him, and he couldn't see her expression under the wide-brimmed hat she wore. Wordlessly she undid the bandages, and then with a smooth gesture she seemed to pull water from the air, drawing it from the mist around them.

_She's a waterbender_, he thought. _But what is she doing in the Fire Nation?_

He listened to the faint sound of her breathing as she carefully guided the water into his wound. It began to glow, and he sucked in air through his teeth. Agni almighty, that was cold! But he could feel the gash begin to heal as the water's effect's kicked in. He looked at her, shocked- he hadn't known waterbenders were capable of such healing power.

She finished quickly, and withdrew the bloodstained water from his skin. He looked down at where the wound had been, and found only a thin, faint pink line to prove it had ever existed. It even looked smaller than the wound had been. He turned back to her, about to offer a word of thanks, but stopped. Something was wrong. Her breathing seemed more labored now, and she was trembling slightly. It was evident that healing him had taken more effort on her part than he'd thought.

He blinked under the mask, at a loss for what to do, but then he touched her arm. She looked up, startled, and for a moment neither of them moved. Then, without being enirely sure _why_ he was doing it, he reached up with one hand and pulled free the ribbon that was holding his mask to his face, catching it in the other hand. The coolness of the morning air blew across his face as he looked at her.

She looked completely horrified. Scrabbling away, she got to her feet, backing away so quickly that she almost stepped in the fire. She covered her mouth with a hand, and Zuko could swear that there were tears in her eyes. She made a sound, but then turned and fled.

"Wait!" He scrambled to his feet, dropping the mask, and ran after her. _She _recognized _me_, he thought.

_I know that, with or without the mask, I'm all over the Wanted posters. But if she didn't care about that when I was the Blue Spirit, why does she care about it now? _Unless it wasn't about the posters. _She knows me from somewhere, and she's afraid of me, but _why_?_

_Where have I seen her before? Where have I seen those eyes?_

She was fast, but she had clearly been awake all night, and even though he was weakened Zuko was able to catch up to her as they darted through the trees. He caught her arm and pulled her to a stop, turning her to face him.

"What's wrong?" he asked breathlessly. "What did I ever do to you?"

She was crying now, and she put her hand over her mouth again. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. Zuko noticed that where her tears had touched the markings on her face, they had bled away.

_So they aren't tattoos,_ he thought. _It's paint- she's painted on her mask, but it's a mask nonetheless._

He looked down- curses, he'd forgotten he wasn't wearing a shirt anymore- (***smiles***) and then fumbled in his pockets for a moment. He turned up with a handkerchief, at last. He pressed it to her face, which was wet with tears, and began to wipe away at the painted lines.

She pulled back, shaking her head even more vigorously. But he tightened his grip on her arm and began again.

Eventually, he'd wiped away enough of the paint to get a good enough look at her face. He blinked, shell-shocked, and let go of her arm.

_It can't be. It just can't _be.

"It's you," he whispered, taking a step back. "But..." How could he have been so _blind_? There was only one pair of eyes like that in the entire universe.

_Katara's eyes._

She sobbed once, and wiped her eyes. "So now you know," she whispered. She sniffed, and looked up. "I have to go," she said, and turned to run.

"Katara, wait!" He grabbed her arm again and pulled her back. She turned, her eyes full of sadness.

"What do you _want_?" she cried.

"Why did you do it?" he asked, holding her gaze. "Why did you help me?"

"I thought- I thought-" She covered her mouth with her hand again and took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She let it drop as she said, "I thought you were my ally. I thought I could trust you." She looked up at him. "I couldn't leave an ally to die."

He grabbed her other shoulder and held her eyes. "Katara, I _am_ your ally. You _can_ trust me."

"Can I, Zuko? Can I really?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Katara." He didn't look away from her. "These masks we wear, they don't hide the people we are inside. They don't disguise what kind of people we really are."

She shook her head. "You and I are enemies, Zuko. _That's_ who we really are. You decided that a long time ago, _remember_? Neither of us can change that."

"But we can." He took one hand away from her shoulder and put it on her face, wiping away a tear with his thumb. "Right here, right now. All you have to do is say so."

She shook her head again. "No, it's not," she said. "It's never that easy."

"Of course it is." His voice was hushed, barely above a whisper. "All you have to do is try." And then, without fully undertstanding _why_ he was doing it, he had leaned down and kissed her.

**Aaaaaaaand, This Is Where I Stop For Tonight Because It's Almost One In The Morning And I Like Nice Cliffhangers. So! I Saw That Over One Hundred People Had Read This And I Nearly CRIED Because I Only Got FOUR Reviews! COME ON, PEOPLE! WHERE Is Your HUMANITY? I Want At Least ONE In Every Three People Who Reads This To Review It! Is That So Much To Ask?**

**Anyway, I Don't Own ATLA, And Never Will. And BTW, I Forgot To Title The First Chapter, But If I Did, It Would Have Been Called Truce. Or Something Along Those Lines, Anyway.**

**I Think I'll Add One More Chapter To This. In The Meantime... 'G'Night!**


	3. Apology

**Thank You For All Of The Reviews! I Knew At Least Some Of You Would Pull Through! Anyway, Sorry I Haven't Updated Sooner, But I Was At Camp (And Other Assorted Places!)! But Before I Start The Chapter, I Have A Few Things To Say To A Few Of You:**

**Miss Elizabeth12****, I Always Capitalize Every Word In My ANs. Even If It's 1 AM. And Thank You For Yelling At People With Me! XD**

**The Nature Of Randomness****,**** I'm Thinking Of Extending It To Four Or Five, But It's Still Going To Be Short. Sorry. XD**

**readingKs****,**** You May Be Right About The Street Credit Thing. But You Know What? I'm Working Toward It! Slowly But Surely, I'll Get There. And Thank You For Helping Out, It's VERY Appreciated! I Also Loved That Bit About Her Eyes, And I'm Sad I Didn't Expand On That A Little More. Also- Why Does That Fact Bother You? And You'll See Where It's Going In This Chapter!**

**All Right! Let's Go!**

Katara's eyes widened, and she stumbled back, away from Zuko. A sob forced its way out of her chest, and she covered her mouth with a hand, gripping the trunk of a nearby tree to hold herself up. She squeezed her eyes shut.

_How could he do this to me? Why would he come back- after all this time?_

A bright spot of anger flared inside her, and she turned to glare at him as he took a step toward her. He looked shocked, and hurt- good. He deserved it.

"Get away from me," she snarled at him as he held his hands out to her. She turned, and tears dropped down her cheeks as she fled.

This time, he didn't follow her.

* * *

><p>Zuko swore, watching Katara dash through the lightening forest. He needed a plan, and he needed it fast.<p>

He turned, and trudged back to their makeshift campsite, the hard lump of anger in his chest making it harder to breathe.

_She hates me._ The anger in his heart took on an edge of despair, and he had to pause a moment to catch his breath.

_So be it._

He reached the campsite then, feeling drained. Absently, he drew the struggling fire out from the pit and channeled the energy into himself, feeling it course through him. Slightly more energized, he walked over to his small pile of things and dropped into a sitting position, crossing his legs. He reached into his pack and pulled out another shirt, slipping it on. He slid the pack on then, his broadswords sheathed but ready.

He sighed, and let his head fall into his hands. _What have I done?_

Taking a deep breath, he looked up, and saw the mask of the Blue Spirit lying on the ground a few feet away. He stood and walked toward it, then bent to retrieve it. He looked at the leering face for a moment, expressionless, but then bounced it once in his palm.

_I can fix this._

* * *

><p>Dawn had just burned the mist from the ground when Katara arrived back at the gAang's latest campsite. With a sigh of relief, she saw that everyone was still asleep. As quickly and quietly as she could, she scrubbed the remaining paint from her face and changed back into her simple blue dress and leggings.<p>

_Playtime's over. Forget him. It never happened._

Exhausted as she was, she didn't try to go to sleep. Instead, she set about making breakfast, banking up the coals in the fire pit and putting water in the kettle to boil. She watched the sunrise as the bubbles rose, and she absently tossed in grain as she watched.

_The sun still rises,_ she thought. _Porridge is still porridge. Nothing's changed._ But she couldn't shake the feeling that something had. Something _had_, and Katara couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was rising in her.

She snapped back to attention as Aang yawned, sitting up. "Katara?" he murmured, blinking away the sleep from his eyes.

She sighed, too soft for him to hear. "Good morning, Aang," she said. "How did you sleep?"

"Okay," he said. "How about you?"

She shrugged noncommitally. "All right, I guess."

He looked at her then, taking in the dark circles under her eyes, and it was then that she knew that he knew she was lying to him. But he said nothing, and turned away with a frown.

She sighed, a breathy sound that she knew he couldn't hear. "Breakfast's almost ready. Do you mind waking everybody up?"

It was his turn to shrug. "All right."

He was upset, she could tell, but what could she do about it? She couldn't just tell him what happened last night- then everyone would be upset.

Katara held in another sigh as she watched Aang walk slowly around the campsite and wake everybody up. He wasn't flying, or jumping, or propelling himself forward with jets of air- a sure sign that all was not right with him. She focused her attention somewhere else, grabbing a handful of wild berries from the bag of ones they had collected the day before. She tossed them in with the porridge as she stirred, hoping the rare treat of the berries would keep everyone cheerful.

She jumped as she felt Toph's hand on her shoulder, and blinked as she felt the other girl lean down to whisper in her ear. "I don't know why and I don't know where, but you went somewhere last night and didn't come back until dawn. I don't expect you to tell me anything, but I hope you don't do it again. For his sake." With a nod toward Aang she straightened, and let go of Katara's shoulder. "What's for breakfast, Queenie?" she said more audibly.

"Porridge," she replied around the rising fear in her chest. _Does she- Has she known about all of them? Can I ever be the Painted Lady again?_

"Yuck," Sokka said, sitting up. "Can't we have something different for once?"

"There're berries in it," she said irritably.

"Still." He stood and yawned, stretching his arms over his head. "Porridge is still porridge. Blech."

"Do you want food today?" Katara quipped, trying not to glare at her older brother.

Sokka's head snapped toward her, suddenly and fully awake, his eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Stop complaining." She grabbed a stack of bowls from another bag and began dishing out the porridge.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm the one that gathers all this food!"

"Guys," Toph said. She wasn't mediating, she was simply trying to get their attention.

"Not _now,_ Toph!" the siblings shouted in unison.

"You know, Sokka, if you want better food, why don't you _gather_ better food!"

"Gathering food is hard! You should be grateful I pay attention to what I gather so I don't poison you guys!"

"You should pay attention anyway! And _you_ should be grateful that _I _bother to even cook! Next time, Sokka, if you want better food, make it yourself!"

"GUYS!" Toph shouted.

"_WHAT_?" Sokka and Katara shouted together, glaring at the blind girl.

"Something's coming." She turned to face the barely risen sun.

They both blinked, all anger at the other suddenly gone. "What?" Katara said.

"Something's co-" she broke off as a figure burst from the trees, seeming to fly at her. Even silhouetted against the sunlight, Katara recognized the figure, whose double broadswords glinted in the sunlight.

_Zuko._

Toph couldn't see him, he was in the air and coming straight toward her. Katara did the first thing that came to mind- she tackled Toph, knocking her out of the way. They both tumbled to the ground. "Hey!" Toph cried.

Zuko landed behind them, and whirled to face them, poised to fight. As Katara lurched to her feet, she saw that he was once again wearing the mask of the Blue Spirit.

For a moment, nobody moved. Then, from behind Zuko, Aang launched a wave of air at him. Zuko jumped, the current of air barely grazing his feet.

With Zuko out of the way, the wave of air barreled forward, nearly knocking Katara and Toph back to the ground. Katara cried out and covered her face with her arms as flying bits of rock and dirt pelted her. Zuko's head snapped toward her, and the instant his feet hit the ground he rushed toward her.

Toph was faster. With a few precise movements, she earthbent pillars out of the ground where he was standing every time his feet touched the floor. It was all he could do to dodge the turbulent rocks underneath his feet as he tried unsuccessfully to reach Katara.

"Wait!" Katara couldn't stop herself from crying out, but she was almost horrified at herself for it. She _really_ grew horrified when she couldn't stop herself from grabbing Toph's wrists, cutting off her bending. "I don't think he wants to hurt us!"

"Are you _crazy_?" Sokka called, his boomerang poised and ready.

Toph gave the other girl a look that was half-quizzical, but was beginning to fill with understanding. "All right, Queenie. If you trust him that much, _you_ go see what he wants."

Katara nodded once. "Thank you," she whispered to the blind girl.

"But now you've made me curious," the other girl warned. "When this is all over, I want a _detailed_ explanation."

Katara gulped, but nodded.

The earthbender turned her attention to the Avatar, who was firing miniature air missiles at his masked opponent. "Twinkletoes! Hold it!" She thrusted her arm, palm out, in Aang's direction, sending a wave of soil his way and knocking him off of his feet. The airbender protested, but the blind girl turned a deaf ear.

They all turned to face the masked intruder, and Katara took two steps forward, until she and Zuko were face-to-face. Trying to see his eyes under the mask, she said quietly, "What are you doing here?"

In response he grabbed her shoulders and spun her around, throwing a constricting arm around her stomach and holding a sword to her throat. She froze, and everyone tensed.

"Katara!" Aang cried, flashing to his feet.

Toph appeared slightly bemused. "Told you so, Queenie," she said dryly.

Katara shook her head numbly, carefully. "N-no," she said. "You've got it all wrong. He just wants me to follow him."

"At swordpoint?" Sokka shouted.

The waterbender shook her head again. "He can't speak, because he's afraid you'll recognize him. He's just saying that he doesn't wan't anyone to follow us." She reached up and put a hand over Zuko's sword hand, sliding her fingers down to his wrist and holding it. "He doesn't want to hurt me."

"Am I the only one noticing the sword pointed at Sugarqueen's throat?" Toph asked innocently.

"Just give me a little time, Toph," Katara said breathlessly. "If I'm not back by..." she looked around wildly for a moment, then caught sight of the sun. "If I'm not back by dawn tomorrow you can come after me. But I will be. He just wants to talk to me."

The earthbending girl folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at the pair, studying them. "Sundown."

The older girl shook her head. "Dawn."

Toph's eyes narrowed further, until they were mere slits. "Fine." She turned and stalked off, grabbing Aang and Sokka by their shirts and dragging them away with her.

Once they were gone, Zuko released his hold on Katara, sheathing his swords. He looked at her for a moment as he took her hand then turned away as he led her out of the camp.

* * *

><p>A hard lump of something between panic and fear had settled into Zuko's chest as he'd listened to Katara speak. He led her away numbly as his thoughts tumbled and whizzed through his brain.<p>

_She- How did she-She knew exactly what I was thinking. I didn't have to say anything to her._

_Why? How?_

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice she was trying to get his attention until she'd called his name twice.

He stopped, and turned toward her. "We're almost there," he said in response to the question she was about to ask. "Just trust me for a minute." He frowned under the mask as he realized the chances of her even beginning to trust him, and turned away, setting a slightly faster pace.

The waterbender fell silent, but gave his hand a squeeze.

A moment later they broke through the trees. The ground here was solid rock, and Zuko heard Katara inhale sharply as she took in the view from the sandstone cliff. The forest stretched out below them, and a river like a fine silken ribbon wound its way across the valley floor.

Still holding her hand, he sat on the cliff's edge, pulling her down to sit next to him and dangling his feet over the side. At last he let go of her, and put his face in his hands. The hard, painted wood of the mask bit into his palms, but the pain helped to clear his head a little.

"Zuko?" Katara said to his right. She looked concerned, but he couldn't see that. Still, he could hear it in her voice as she said, "Look at me?"

He sighed, but did as she asked.

She took one look at him and sighed as well. "I already know who you are," she said quietly, reaching for the ribbons that held his mask in place. "So I'd like to be able to see your face when I'm talking to you."

Zuko held his breath as he felt her smooth forearms brush his shoulders as she pulled off his mask. She gave a small smile as she gently pulled away the carved peice of wood.

"There," she said, "Much better."

He took a shaky breath. "I'm sorry," he murmured to her.

Her smile faded, and she looked down, turning to face the expanse before them. "Is that all you wanted to say?" she asked as she folded her hands in her lap, the mask underneath her fingers.

He blinked, and moved a little closer to her. "I'm an idiot," he whispered, brushing a strand of her hair back. "I've hurt you, a lot, and I shouldn't have."

She closed her eyes. "Why, Zuko?" she asked.

He understood what she was really asking. "I'm an idiot," he said again, putting his hand on the back of her neck. "I'd always thought that the only way to be happy was to regain my honor by capturing the Avatar." He looked away, putting his head in his hands. "But by the time I was back on a Fire Navy ship, I felt sick. It felt wrong." He took a deep breath."So now... I'm going to play along, gain favor with my father and my sister until they trust me. And when the time is right..." he pulled back, and turned away from her. "I'm going to kill them. For everyone's good."

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "You would do that to your own family?" she asked.

He didn't look at her. "That's what you plan on doing, isn't it? Killing my father, to save the world." He sighed. "We're not so different, you and I."

She blinked, and looked out over the valley. "I never really thought of it like that," she said. "I guess I just never really wanted to think about what waits for us."

He exhaled, and slowly turned to look at her. "I know," he said. "That's just how you are. It's a good thing, sometimes, your optimism. It keeps you from seeing the worst in people."

She looked at him then. "Is that why..." she trailed off, a hint of a blush staining her cheeks.

He understood. "Part of it," he said. "I didn't know you could be so... so kind... to me. There are only two people I can think of that were ever that kind to me, and they're both lost to me now. So... I guess I missed that."

Her blush grew more pronounced, and she wouldn't look at him.

"Katara?" he asked. She didn't look up until he gently placed his fingers underneath her chin and tilted her face toward him. "I don't regret it. I didn't mean to make you cry, but I don't regret kissing you." He moved his hand to her face, and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "I'd even do it again, if you'd let me."

In response she put her hand on his cheek, turned him to face her, and kissed him first.

.

***Hides Behind Desk* I'm Sorry! I Know It's Been Forever, But I Had To Go To A Funeral In Another State, And I've Been UBER Busy, But This One's A Little Longer Than The Others, So I Hope You'll Forgive Me!**

**Next Chapter Rated T+, Not Quite M but Not Quite T Either... O.o I Hope You Can Guess Why.**

**Review!**


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